Responses to Conflict and Cooperation in Adolescents with Anxiety and Mood Disorders

Authors: McClure, Erin; Parrish, Jessica; Nelson, Eric; Easter, Joshua; Thorne, John; Rilling, James; Ernst, Monique; Pine, Daniel

Source: Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, Volume 35, Number 4, August 2007 , pp. 567-577(11)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

This study examined patterns of behavioral and emotional responses to conflict and cooperation in adolescents with anxiety/mood disorders and healthy peers. We compared performance on and emotional responses to the Prisoner's Dilemma (PD) game, an economic exchange task involving conflict and cooperation, between adolescents with anxiety/depressive disorders (A/D) (N=21) and healthy comparisons (N = 29). Participants were deceived to believe their co-player (a pre-programmed computer algorithm) was another study participant. A/D adolescents differed significantly from comparisons in patterns of play and emotional response to the game. Specifically, A/D participants responded more cooperatively to cooperative overtures from their co-players; A/D girls also reported more anger toward co-players than did comparison girls. Our findings indicate that A/D adolescents, particularly females, respond distinctively to stressful social interchanges. These findings offer a first step toward elucidating the mechanisms underlying social impairment in youth with internalizing disorders.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Cooperation; Conflict; Interpersonal interaction; Prisoner's Dilemma

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9113-8

Affiliations: 1: Email: emcclure@gsu.edu

Publication date: 2007-08-01